Mechalarum Page-a-Day: Page 18 - Xenophobia

Anyone who has ever been labeled as "different" by those around them knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of Jolorn's unrelenting hatred.

There's not much you can do when faced with someone who's already made up his mind about what to make of you based on factors over which you have little or no control (glasses, height, the fact you came from another planet). Even worse, prejudices are an easy way to transmit and assess information in neat little packages - our shortcut-loving brains lap that stuff up. And so, discrimination quickly spreads.

Xeno is a root with Greek origins typically used to mean "stranger" or "foreigner." In ancient cultures, the foreign or unknown was often a cause for fear and distrust. You may not have liked everyone in your tiny mountain village, but at least you knew to what extent they were likely to screw you over. You had to work together to ensure your mutually continued existence. A newcomer had no such compunctions, and so your very survival might have depended on identifying and ostracizing the other.

Funnily enough, xeno was also used to describe guests, and in some cultures strangers were not to be feared, but to be welcomed and learned from. Jolorn's attitude may be a common one, but it is not universally held by a long shot.